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Who requires a visa?

Who requires a visa?

Not everyone wishing to travel to South Africa needs to have a visa. Whether or not you need one depends on how long you want to spend in South Africa and for what purpose.

Listed below are countries whose passport holders are allowed to be in South Africa either for 90 days or 30 days without a visa. If you cannot find your country in the lists, you will need to apply for a visa at least four weeks BEFORE arriving in South Africa, as visas are not issued at ports of entry in South Africa. In other words, if you need to have a visa and you arrive in South Africa without one, you will be sent back to your country of origin immediately.

FINALISE YOUR VISA BEFORE YOU ARRIVE.

90 days

Passport holders of the following countries may remain in South Africa for up to 90 days without a visa.
United States of America
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Australia
New Zealand
Germany
African Union Laissez Passer
Andorra
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Botswana
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Finland
FranceGreece
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Liechtenstein
Luxemburg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Paraguay
Portugal
San Marino
Singapore
Spain
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania (90 days per year)
British Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey, Isle of Man and Virgin Islands.
Republic of Ireland
British Oversees Territories who are in possession of British passports
namely: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean
Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands,
Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island,
Gough Island and Tristan da Cunha), Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and
Oeno Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus South Georgia and
South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos Island.
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zimbabwe

Diplomatic exemption

Passport holders of the following countries qualify for visa exemption if they are diplomatic or service passport holders. The period of days in brackets indicates how long they may remain in South Africa without a visa.

General visa exemptions

enter South Africa from Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi

spend less than 15 days in South Africa

are able to produce on demand a letter of employment issued by a transport company

The same principle applies to Zimbabwean commercial heavy-duty truck drivers, except that their time in South Africa may not exceed 30 days at a time. This does not apply to commercial heavy-duty truck drivers who transport goods for a South African transport company. Such drivers must be in possession of a valid South African work visa.

Staff members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are exempt if they are

travelling on SADC laissez-passers

travelling on bona fide official business

staying for 90 days or less, or are in transit

Holders of United Nations (UN) laissez-passers are exempt, if they are

visiting South Africa for 90 days or less

visiting the country for official business purposes

in transit

are accredited for placement at a UN mission in South Africa for the duration of their accreditation

are volunteers attached to UN agencies and travelling on ordinary passports, provided they are in possession of relevant letters or identification documents to identify themselves at ports of entry as personnel of an UN agency.

The exemption on UN staff therefore applies to

Holders of UN laissez-passers

UN volunteers

Persons involved in any UN agency

Persons performing services on behalf of the UN

Members of military forces attending any military related matters with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are exempt from visa and study visa requirements, regardless of how long they are going to be in South Africa, as long as they have a letter of invitation from the SANDF, in addition to a letter of consent issued by the military force of which they are members.

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DHA DISCLAIMER

We subscribe to Google's rules on transparency. We represent a privately owned immigration and visa law firm. We are not the South African Government. We charge for our expertise in successfully applying for temporary and permanent residency services, for legal advice and for legal representation. Users can contact the Department of Home Affairs directly.